


Name (Soulmate AU)

by cheesyjohnny



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Fluff, Haikyuu - Freeform, Humor, KageHina - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7140059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheesyjohnny/pseuds/cheesyjohnny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone is born with a single letter printed on their wrist, that being the first letter of their soulmate's name. Around the ages of 15-25 is when a person meets their soulmate and has their first kiss, their wrist is then imprinted with the rest of each other's names.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Same

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally published by me on Wattpad

_Everyone is born with a single letter printed on their wrist, that being the first letter of their soulmate's name. Around the ages of 15-25 is when a person meets their soulmate and has their first kiss, their wrist is then imprinted with the rest of each other's names._

*********

Hinata Shouyou was born without a letter on his wrist. He grew up knowing that he'd never find his soulmate as his wrist remained bare. He knew that there was no hope he would find someone to grow old with. His mother was shocked, stricken with sorrow when she saw. She kept quiet about it as Hinata grew up, not wanting to worry him even further. He was picked on by his fellow classmates for not having a letter. They made fun of him everyday for not being _normal_. Only his so called "friends" where the ones to stick up for him but Hinata would sometimes overhear their conversations, their favorite topic was him. They would talk about him behind his back, whispering about how weird he is and that no _normal_ person should be born without having a soulmate someday.

There it is again, the word _normal._ It haunts Hinata everyday as he knew he wasn't. His classmates, his "friends", reminded him of it whenever they had the chance. Hinata could never escape their taunting words. He was in a vortex of harsh remarks, his mind whispering hateful words, making sure that he knows he'll never fit in, never fit into society that he dreamt of being accepted into ever since he was born. But there was no way, no way anyone would accept him.

_Or was there?_

*********

"Shouyou, time to wake up! You don't want to be late for school again!" Hinata's mother knocks on his door loudly.

Hinata groans and stuffs his face in his pillow. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to go to school where he was constantly bullied but he had to. No matter how many times he fought with his mother to let him say home, she still made him. She knew what went on at his school. She tried talking to the principle to fix the problem but they didn't do anything. His mother would sometimes let him stay at home for the day if things got worse but she didn't want it to become a habit. Hinata would pester her everyday to let him stay home but she still forced him to go. He needed an education and she didn't want him to fall behind and have to retake the year.

His mother knocks again on the door and when she didn't receive a response, she opened his door to see him covering his head with his duvet. She sighs and makes her way over to the bed and sits down next to him. "Shouyou, please. You need to get up and go to school. You didn't go yesterday so you must go back today." She says softly.

Hinata pulls the blanket away from his face and looks up at her pleadingly. She shakes her head and he sighs in defeat. Hinata sits up and his mother kisses his forehead before leaving. "You have a game today. Don't want to miss that do you?" She reminds him before closing his door with a smile.

 _I totally forgot!_ Hinata thinks, suddenly becoming excited as it was his first volleyball game since he started middle school. He flings the duvet off of him and quickly puts on some clothes. He brushes his teeth then grabs his bags, rushing past his mother who was making breakfast.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" She asks him as he makes his way over to the front door.

"No, sorry! I'm not hungry." He responds and opens the door. "Bye!"

Hinata gets on his bike and rushes down the street, eager to get to school while hoping the day will pass quickly. When he finally gets there, he locks up his bike in the bike rack and stealthily avoids some of his classmates who where laughing in the hall. Hinata takes a seat at his desk and crosses his fingers, hoping that he wouldn't have to get picked on yet for the day but it didn't work.

"Well look who it is." A male voice sneers. "Where were you yesterday? My favorite little punching bag wasn't here so I couldn't take my anger out on him. Maybe you deserve twice as much of a beating today, wouldn't you agree?"

"Please leave me alone." Hinata says quietly, not making eye contact with his bully and his friends who surrounded his desk.

"Hmmm? What did you say?" He laughs annoyingly. "Why don't you speak up!" He then grabs onto Hinata's shirt and pulls him up from his seat, giving him an evil look as he raises his fist.

"Quiet!" Their teacher shouts as he makes his way into the classroom. "Put, Hinata down and go back to your seats!"

His bully gives him a menacing look and shoves him back him his chair. He and his friends make their way to their desks while proceeding to give Hinata glares.

 _Thank god._ Hinata sighs in relief, thankful that he avoided a beating. He knew that at lunch there was no way he could escape from them. Unfortunately, he'll receive two days worth of punches and kicks. _How wonderful. I hope it won't hurt that bad, I have a game today so I'd suck if I can't play._ Hinata thinks.

School passes by in a blur. Sure enough, Hinata was pulled into a vacant hallway during lunch by his bullies. After receiving a good couple of punches to the face and kicks to the stomach, Hinata was able to get away with a cut lip and a few bruises. When school ended, Hinata and his teammates found their way to the school holding the volleyball game.

"I heard the team we're playing is really strong." Kawashima says nervously, the others agreeing.

"It'll be fine!" Hinata encourages them. "We'll win for sure!"

Kouji gives Hinata a look of pity. He knew that they wouldn't win. Their team was put together on a whim. Half of them didn't even know the rules and what the positions were.

Hinata's eyes lit up when he entered the gymnasium. "Wow!" He looked around at the stands where people were starting to fill up the seats and a gazed joyfully over the court.

All of a sudden, a strong aura appears from behind the team and they turn their heads fearfully. The team they were about to play against walks through the doors and passes them, giving them glares. The last person caught Hinata's attention. His eyes widened in shock and his heart stopped. The male with a dark aura, black hair and a cold look in his eyes, had no letter on his wrist.


	2. Second Meeting

Hinata stood there shocked. Someone, there was someone just like _him_ who wasn't like everyone else. He wasn't the only one.

"Wait!" Hinata calls. The black haired male turns around, looking at him with dark and angry eyes. Hinata flinched but proceeded to say, "You... you're just like me!" then points to the taller males wrist. He watches as he looks down at his wrist then at Hinata's. Something flashed in his eyes but he said nothing. Just as he was about to turn around to this team's side of the court, Hinata grabbed onto his jacket and asked, "Wait! What's your name?"

"Kageyama." He says coldly then turns around, shaking off the shorter males grip.

Hinata watches as he walks away, his eyes lighting up. Who knew that there would be someone just like him.

*********

"Mom! You'll never believe who I met today!" Hinata says happily as he opens the front door.

Even though his team was utterly defeated and had no chance of winning, Hinata wasn't too upset over it. Of course he was still sad and angry that they lost. Even after all those years he practiced and thought they'd get somewhere, he was still happy. Happy to finally met someone who shared the same fate as him.

"Welcome back." His mother says while stirring a pot on the stove. "And who was it?"

"Someone who didn't have a letter on their wrist!" Hinata shouts while throwing up his arms.

"Shouyou, be quiet." Natsu tells him from the living room as she was trying to watch TV but he was being too loud.

"Really?" His mother puts down the spoon to give him her full attention.

"Yeah! But he was really mean and angry and had a scary look on his face." Hinata grumbles.

Hinata's mom smiles happily, glad to know her son wasn't the only one. She tells him to wash up as dinner was almost done cooking. After dinner, Hinata lie in his bed with a grin on his face. "Hopefully we'll met again, King of the Court." Hinata says to no one in particular and turns off his light. As soon as his head hit his pillow, he was fast asleep, a smile still present on his face.

*********

***One year later***

"Hinata, time to get u-." Hinata's mother was cut off as his door flung open, an overly excited Hinata running past her with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Wait! Have some breakfast first!" She calls as he runs for the front door.

"Sorry, I can't! I'm in a hurry, I want to see the gym!" Hinata yells and closes the door a little to loudly. He hops on his bike and starts his half an hour trek through the mountains.

After locking up his bike when he arrived at his new school, Hinata ran towards the gym and threw open the door. His heart stopped. Someone he never thought he'd see again was right in front of him. Hinata started stuttering, not able to form words in his shocked state. Kageyama turned his head and his eyes widened when they fell on the short male he met around a year ago at the volleyball game.

"You!" Hinata shouts, pointing at Kageyama.

"Me?" Kageyama points to himself, titling his head in confusion

"Yes you! Who else would I be talking about!" Hinata shouts, still shocked.

"I..." Kageyama starts to say but drops it, looking down in embarrassment.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata asks, confused as to why someone who was a genius setter and held the name of 'King of the Court' would come to a little school such as Karasuno when he could have went to one of the main schools in the prefecture.

"... I'm not saying..." Kageyama replies. He didn't want him to know he didn't get in because he failed the entrance exam. Plus, he might even make fun of him. He was already made fun of enough for having a bare wrist and didn't want to get picked on even more.

"Ehhh? Come on! Tell me~." Hinata tugs on the sleeve of his jacket.

"Get off!" Kageyama tries to pry the redhead's hand off of him. "I don't even know your name!"

"Oh, that's right! I never told you!" Hinata taps on his chin. "I'm Hinata, Hinata Shouyou!"

 _Has a nice ring to it..._ Kageyama thinks but regrets it as he starts blushing. _Why?! Why would I think that?! I just met the guy, we'll sort of... but anyway! It's not normal to think like that!_

"Oi, Kageyama. You okay? Your face is red." Hinata waves his hand in front of his face. "Are you sick?"

Kageyama's face turned a darker shade of red when Hinata reached up to feel his forehead. He slapped his hand away and said, "I'm fine! And don't touch me, dumbass!"

"Jeez. You're such a grump." Hinata teases.

Kageyama picks up his bag on the floor and heads towards the gym doors. "Wait! Where are you going?!"

"To class? We're going to be late you know." Kageyama says bluntly.

"Oh yeah!" Hinata remembers that they only had a few minutes to get to class before they're marked down for being late.

Hinata picks up his bag and throws it over his shoulder. He runs for the door but then he gets stuck as Kageyama was trying to pass through the door at the same time as Hinata.

"Move!"

"No you move!"

"I'm going to be late!"

"I will too if you don't move!"

They struggle for a few moments before Kageyama manages to get past him and runs for the school building with Hinata following.

"Hey, stop following me!" Kageyama yells behind him.

"Well I'm sorry that my class is this way!" Hinata shoots back.

After running through the halls, they make their way to their classroom, unfortunately they had the same class together and Kageyama glared at Hinata angrily from across the room.

 _Well this day just keeps getting better and better_. Hinata thinks sarcastically. The guy who shared the same problem he did was extremely mean and he thought that he'd change after a while but he was wrong.

Or wasn't he?


	3. First Practice

"Kageyama! Let's eat lunch together!" Hinata yells loudly like always.

"No, dumbass." Kageyama doesn't look up where the over enthusiastic redhead stood, shoving his lunch in his face.

"Oh come on! Let's eat~." Hinata pesters.

"Go eat by yourself, okay?" Kageyama replies angrily and stands up.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asks, bouncing around the taller male.

"None of your business." Kageyama says coldly and pushes the classroom door open then closes it loudly behind him.

"He's so mean!" Hinata pouts. "Guess I'll have to eat lunch by myself then."

Hinata heads back to his seat and starts to eat his lunch. Afterwards, he lays his head on the desk and closes his eyes. He hardly got any sleep the night before as he was too excited to actually fall asleep.

After Kageyama got back to the classroom from wandering the halls, thankful the annoying Hinata didn't follow him, he sat at his desk with a sigh and rested his head in his hand. He looked across the room to see Hinata sleeping and scoffs. _He looks kind of cute though..._ Kageyama thinks then immediately starts to blush when he realizes what he just thought. _No! Don't think like that! You hate him remember? Anyways, guys aren't supposed to think other guys are cute!_

Kageyama was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a few girls laughing and noticed they were laughing at him because he'd been pulling at his hair and was making a weird face. He looks away, fully embarrassed he made a fool of himself on his first day at school which then ruined his image he tried to keep.

*********

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Hinata got yelled at for sleeping during class and everyone laughed at him. He felt terrible already and that just added up to how much of a bad day he was having already. Hinata just hoped everything would get better as it was almost time for volleyball practice. He watched the clock intensely, trying to use his mind to make the time go faster but it didn't work and he ended up hurting his head. The three minutes were the longest three minutes of his life and when the bell finally rang, Hinata immediately jumped up from his chair, knocking it over in the process and grabbed his bag, and ran for the door.

"Hinata! Pick up your chair!" His teacher yelled just as he was almost out the door.

Hinata groans and quickly picked up his chair off of the floor then proceeded to run for the gym. Unfortunately, Kageyama beat him to the gym and he was collapsed on the floor, trying to catch his breath.

"1-0." Kageyama says with a smirk. "And the number is going to keep climbing as you remain at zero."

"No! _My_ number is going to get bigger while I _you_ stay at one!" Hinata gets up from the floor and points a finger at Kageyama.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"N-!"

"Stop yelling you two!" An annoyed voice calls out from behind them. They turn around to be faced with three upperclassmen. One of them with a buzz cut giving them a menacing look. "You're being too loud!"

"Well so are you." One of them replies.

"Anyways..." The other says, looking down at a paper, "Are you two the only first years for now?"

"There's more?" Hinata asks excitedly, bouncing up and down.

He nods and like magic, the other two first years appear in the doorway of the gym. They all introduce themselves and start practice.

"Ooooo!" Hinata runs towards Kageyama who had already picked up a volleyball. "Toss to me!"

"No." Kageyama turns away from him and sets the ball, it landing on the other side of the net forcefully.

"Please~." Hinata begs.

Kageyama ignores him and grabs another volleyball.

"But why? Were teammates now so come on!" Hinata tries to grab the ball from Kageyama but he lifts it over his head.

Hinata jumps up and hits it out of his hand. "Haha! Take that!"

Kageyama huffs and walks over to pick up the ball. "Toss to me! Toss to me!" Hinata doesn't leave him alone

"Fine! But only once." Kageyama fumes.

"Yay!" Hinata yells gleefully and runs to the court.

Kageyama tosses the ball up into the air and it glides over to Hinata who had a huge smile on his face. The ginger jumps up and smacks the ball with an extreme amount of force, it then coming back down on the other side of the net with a loud thump.

"Ahhh! Toss to me more!" Hinata begged.

"No. I said only once so that was it." Kageyama retrieved the volleyball from the other side of the court.

"That's no fair!" Hinata grumbled, crossing his arms with a pout on his face.

"Life isn't fair." Kageyama shoots back which in turn makes Hinata angry and he jumps on him, trying to get the ball.

"Toss to me!!" Hinata yells, reaching for the ball that Kageyama held out away from him while trying to pry the shorter male off of him.

"Hey, you two! Stop fighting and start practicing!" Daichi yells from across the gym.

Hinata falls off of Kageyama's back and sits on the floor with an angry look on his face. He was muttering words under his breath that Kageyama couldn't understand so he took his leave to go practice serves.

*********

"Wait, so you're saying you two _don't_ have a letter on your wrist?" Sugawara says, confused, pointing to Hinata and Kageyama.

After practice, the team cooled down then were called to sit on the floor to get to know their teammates better. But it wasn't really going as planned.

"Haha, lame." Tsukishima laughs, giving Hinata and Kageyama an amused look.

"What'd you say?! Wanna fight!" Hinata stands up but Kageyama pulls him back down, not wanting him to start another fight as he and Hinata already got yelled at numerous times that day for fighting during practice.

"Who doesn't have one? I mean come on, that's not _normal_." Tsukishima replies, making sure to emphasize the word 'normal'.

"Lemme at him!" Hinata tries to get up again but is pulled back down by Kageyama. He struggles in his grip but gives up after a while.

"Okay... I think that's enough for today." Daichi says calmly, even though he was at his limit from trying to remain calm all practice.

Everyone stands up and grabs their bags off of the floor. There was no need to clean the floors as they did them after cooling down so they said goodbye and left the gym, going their separate ways to their houses.

Hinata was still fuming and hopped on his bike. He thought that after going to a new school the bullying and teasing would stop but he was wrong. _Could life get any worse?_ Hinata asks himself as he peddles angrily down the street. _I hope things get better, I really do._


	4. The New Team

The rest of the week went by slowly. Nothing new or exciting happened, just wake up, go to school, have practice, go home and have dinner, then sleep. But, there was talk going around the team about two other members. One who got suspended from club activities for fighting and the other who just hasn't shown up. Hinata was curious. He wondered who these people were and wondered if they'd ever come back.

Daichi reassured the team that they'd be back sometime that week and Hinata couldn't keep still. Once they came back, they'd have a new team. A strong team. One that is strong enough to go to nationals.

*********

"Bye mom!" Hinata waves goodbye before heading off to school.

The air had gotten warmer and the wind was slightly blowing, making the trees rustle. Birds flew high in the sky and called out to each other. The morning was very peaceful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air smelled of flowers.

Hinata smiled joyfully and peddled slowing, taking it all in. When he reached the top of the hill and could see the school below, he sped down the road and came to a stop in front of the school entrance. They didn't have practice that morning as they were lending the gym to the basketball club so Hinata locked up his bike and made his way around groups of people in the hallway to get to his classroom.

Hinata peeked his head through the door, expecting to find Kageyama in his seat but it was empty. _Hmm, that's odd. He usually gets here before me..._ Hinata thinks. _I'll go find him then!_

The redhead skips down the hall and looks into classrooms for black hair and an angry face but finds none. He decides to check outside and as he was about to turn a corner, he hears a familiar voice.

Hinata looks around the corner to spot Kageyama... with a girl? Curious, he watches from afar and sees the girl, who with a very red face, says something quickly to the taller male and closes her eyes in anticipation. _Oh, it's a love confession!_ Hinata laughs. _Who knew the King was popular with the ladies. But wait, how does this work anyway? Does she think he's his soulmate? She must have a 'T' on her wrist then because she wouldn't confess to him otherwise. But..._

He notices Kageyama shake his head which makes the girl tear up a bit and she apologizes. She turns around and runs past Hinata who looks at her as she passes.

"Way to break a poor innocent girl's heart, Kageyama." Hinata calls as Kageyama looks over and sees he was watching the whole ordeal.

"Be quiet." Kageyama stuffs his hands in his pockets. "She just wasn't my type. Besides, I'm not supposed to have a soulmate anyway."

"You could've let her down nicely though." Hinata walks side by side with the taller male.

"I did!" Kageyama looks down at him, making an angry face.

"Sure sure. I _totally_ believe that." Hinata laughs.

"Just shut up, dumbass." Kageyama stomps away, leaving Hinata behind.

The two made it back to class just in time as the bell rang right when they walked through the door. They both say in their assigned seats and prepared for a long day ahead.

After a few hours passed, Hinata asked Kageyama to eat lunch with him but he refused, like always. _What's his problem? Jeez. Can he actually be nice for once or am I just hoping for a miracle to happen._ Hinata sighs.

*********

"Haha! 6-5!" Hinata yells happily, doing a little victory dance.

"I'll beat you tomorrow." Kageyama sent him glares.

"Nah. I don't think that's going to happen." Hinata teases.

The two quickly get changed into their practice clothes and head out the door just as people were starting to enter the club room.

They race down the steps and run towards the storage room in the gym but realized it was locked as Hinata was tugging on the door and it wouldn't budge.

"Aww c'mon." Hinata grumbles. "I wanted to be the first one to start practicing."

"You guys have to slow down." Tanaka says annoyed from behind him while swinging a key around his finger. "All this running around is really giving me a headache."

"Yay!" Hinata jumps up and down as Tanaka unlocks the door.

Kageyama and Hinata grab the poles and net and carry it across the floor to set it up for practice. The rest of the team started walking in through the door and wheeled a cart full of volleyballs onto the court.

"You're... coming... with... me!" A voice calls from outside and everyone turns their head to look as someone who was shorter than Hinata, was dragging along a very tall upperclassmen who looked as if he was going to die.

"Ah, Noya! Asahi!" Sugawara says happily upon seeing the two teammates.

Asahi broke free from Nishinoya's grip and made a run for the door but Daichi stopped him in his tracks while giving him a dark look.

"How about you stay for practice." Daichi pats his shoulder, grinning evilly.

Asahi's face pales and he nods, knowing there was no way he could escape.

"Ooo! So they're the Guardian Deity and the Ace!" Hinata runs up to them, looking at them with admiration.

"Yes! _I'm_ the Guardian Deity!" Nishinoya says proudly, pointing a finger at himself.

"And you're the Ace! I want to be the Ace too someday! It's so cool!" Hinata started blabbering and Asahi had no clue what to do so he just coughed awkwardly and had the look of 'save me' clearly written on his face.

"How about we start practice, yeah?" Sugawara says after seeing the look on Asahi's face.

The team heads off to work on certain things like setting, spiking, and receiving. Kageyama wouldn't let Hinata practice with him so he went to bug Nishinoya after seeing him do this receive that he calls the 'Rolling Thunder'.

*********

"Nice work today!" Daichi claps as the team finishes cooling down.

"When are we doing a practice match!" Hinata asks. "I want to play in a practice match!"

"In two weeks with Nekoma." Daichi responds. "We'll be going to Tokyo so make sure to tell your parents."

"Okay!" Hinata salutes then heads off to clean the floors with a mop.

Hinata and Kageyama made it a game to see who could mop the floors the fastest and before anyone could tell them to stop, the floors had already been cleaned.

"Let's walk home together, Kageyama!" Hinata suggests as he puts the mop away in the storage room.

"Why would I want to do that?" Kageyama asks, a slight blush present on his face.

"Well, we both go the same way so I don't see why we can't walk home together." Hinata taps his chin thoughtfully. "Oh! And we can get some meat buns on the way too!"

"Whatever." Kageyama says as he walks out the door to go to the club room.

After putting on their jackets since it had gotten colder out and grabbing their bags, the two made their way down the street. The sky was all sorts of colors ranging from pinks, purples, blues, and oranges. Hinata looks at the sky, a smile forming on his face. "Look at how pretty the sunset is!"

Kageyama hums in response. _You're also pretty too..._ Kageyama thinks but slaps himself afterwards.

"You okay?" Hinata gives him a weird look. "It's not really normal to slap yourself in the face."

"Y-yeah..." Kageyama looks away in embarrassment.

"Whatever you say weirdo."

"Huh! Who are you calling a weirdo?!" Kageyama stops in his tracks to face him.

"You?" Hinata says. "It's true though."

"No it isn't!"

"Yeah huh." Hinata continues on walking, wheeling his bike beside him and not looking back at Kageyama.

"No it isn't!" Kageyama runs after Hinata so he's standing in front of him, blocking the path.

"Move." The redhead tries to get around the taller male but he doesn't budge.

"Shut up! Stop making a ruckus in front of my store!" And annoyed voice breaks them out of their argument.

They turn their heads to see a man with blond hair that was pulled with a headband, giving them an angry look. Kageyama apologizes and the man sighs, returning back into the store.

"Meat buns meat buns!" Hinata jumps up and down. "I want meat buns!"

Kageyama grabs Hinata's head and forces him to stay still. "Okay! I get it!" He says before heading into the store.

Kageyama returns a few minutes later with a bag. He holds it out to Hinata who snatches it out of his hands and grabs a freshly made bun then stuffs it in his mouth. Kageyama takes the bag and grabs the other one, starting to walk down the road with Hinata following close behind.

They walk in a comfortable silence until Hinata says, "Bye! See you tomorrow!" He then waves goodbye to Kageyama as they get to the intersection.

Kageyama waves back slightly then heads off in the other direction. Hinata hops on his bike and peddles quickly down the road, not wanting to get home late and risk his mother and Natsu worrying about him.

As he peddles down the road, Hinata can't help but wonder what this feeling he has whenever he's with Kageyama and wonders if he's getting sick. _Ehh, I'm probably just getting sick. I don't need to worry. I'll be fine!_


	5. Karasuno vs. Nekoma

"Make sure to double-check your bags so you don't forget anything." Daichi tells the team as they were about to head to Tokyo for the practice match against Nekoma.

Everyone rummages through their bags and after checking, they pile onto the bus that they rented for the day and sit in the seats after throwing their bags into a few empty seats in the front.

They didn't have classes that day as it would take around five hours to get to the schoo. So, they decided to leave just after school started so they would get there at a reasonable time, leaving them enough time for the match and getting home just after dinner.

Hinata took a window seat and looked out at the parking lot. His stomach lurched and his head was pounding. He was extremely nervous and his stomach wasn't really agreeing with him at that moment.

Kageyama looked over at Hinata from across the isle. He huffed then went to look out the window. He rested his head on his hand and leaned his arm on the armrest. Kageyama stole a quick glance at Hinata whose face had turned pale. The black haired male sighed then stood up, walking over to Hinata and taking a seat next to him.

Hinata didn't know Kageyama had sat down next to him until he felt a hand on his back. He turned his head and gave him a sheepish smile. Kageyama knew Hinata was nervous and no matter how much he didn't exactly like him, he felt bad so he started to rub small circles into his back in a way to calm his nerves.

Hinata grew less tense and his stomach wasn't feeling as nauseous as before. He leaned his head on the window and closed his eyes, hoping the pounding in his head would cease if he took a short nap.

The taller male took his hand off of Hinata's back when he noticed that he fell asleep and he turned his head to look in front of him where he saw Nishinoya and Tanaka looking at him intensely. Kageyama gave them a look that said 'What are you looking at?' And they turned to each other and started laughing.

Kageyama looked at them weirdly then realized that the reason why they were laughing was because they saw the whole ordeal where he tried to calm down Hinata and he started to blush furiously.

"Looks like the King fell for someone now, didn't he." Tsukishima sniggers along with Yamaguchi.

"Shut up! No I haven't!" Kageyama retorts. "And stop calling me that!"

"How believable, _King._ " Tsukishima says, not believing a word that Kageyama said.

"I said stop calling me that!" Kageyama replies, anger bubbling up inside of him.

"Can you please stop yelling!" Daichi had turned around to yell at them. "You're giving me a headache!"

"Sorry." Kageyama says quietly. He turns to give Tsukishima a menacing look but the blond only laughs and turns away.

*********

"We're here!" Coach Ukai announces as they pull into the parking lot of the school.

Hinata who had calmed down was overflowing with nerves again. He stood up after they stopped and grabbed his bag then made his way off of the bus.

"Is that the Tokyo Sky Tree?!" Nishinoya points to a random electrical tower, his face filled with awe.

"Well if it isn't the country bumpkins." An unfamiliar voice says which makes the team turn to look in the direction of the voice.

There stood the Nekoma High School volleyball club. They had come to greet the rival team and already a few of them weren't on good terms, a.k.a. Tanaka and Yamamoto.

"Huh? What'd you say, city boy?!" Tanaka appears right before Yamamoto, his face inches away from the other.

Just as they were about to fight, Kuroo grabs onto Yamamoto's jacket to hold him back. "Sorry about that." He apologizes but they could all tell he didn't really mean it.

Kuroo shakes Daichi's hand (still holding onto Yamamoto's jacket with the other) and a dark aura was surrounding them due to a long term rivalry between the two schools.

Hinata looked at the members of the other team and spotted someone in the back with pudding hair who had their face glued to their phone. Kenma was currently battling a boss and hadn't looked up once to greet Karasuno.

The two teams headed inside the gym where the net was already set up so they warmed up and then came face to face on the court.

Hinata was trembling and his face was pale. This was his first practice match (he was the only one on his team in middle school, besides his friends that he begged them to join, and the only match that they played was against Kitagawa Daiichi the year before) and he was worrying that he'd mess up. He jumped from fright when the whistle blew and looked wide-eyed to the other side of the court.

Karasuno was serving first, Nekoma receiving. Daichi tossed the ball into the air and hit it forcefully. The ball flew over to the other side of the net but was received by their Libero, Yaku. It was hit to Kenma who set the ball and it came down on the other side with a powerful spike made by Kuroo.

"It's okay! We'll get the point back this time!" Daichi encourages them.

Hinata watched as the ball glided over the net on their side and it was then received by Asahi who hit it over to Kageyama. The taller male gave Hinata a look and the redhead nodded. He jumped up just as Kageyama set it and when the ball flew into his palm, he smacked it down on to the floor forcefully.

Nekoma stood there in shock, not blinking. When they realized what just happened, they all looked at Hinata who proudly smiled.

"H-how did he..."

"That was fast!"

Hinata was thrown compliments from his teammates which made his smile grow, his nervousness long gone.

*********

"Thank you for having us!" Karasuno bows to Nekoma.

They had lost both sets, the first came out to 17-25 and the second was 20-25. Even though they were defeated, they still smiled proudly.

Nekoma waved goodbye as the other team drove off then went back inside the gym to clean up.

"I'm so tired." Hinata could barely keep his eyes open.

Nishinoya had already passed out once they left the school and everyone was exhausted as they used up all of their energy during the match.

Kageyama had sat next to Hinata and he was looking off into space. He was tired and it was hard to keep his eyes open but he didn't want to sleep. Kageyama jolted in surprise when he felt something on his shoulder so he turned his head to see Hinata resting his head on him, fast asleep.

Kageyama was pretty sure his face was a dark shade of red and he was glad that it was dark out so it wasn't noticeable. He looked around him to see if anyone noticed but they all had their eyes closed. Kageyama sighed in relief and he leaned his head back. His eyes started to close but he had no control over it so he was soon dragged into a dreamless sleep, his head falling to the side to rest on top of Hinata's.

*********

"Take a picture! Hurry before they wake up!"

Hinata slowly opened his eyes and blinked away the blurriness. He looked around him to see Tanaka holding out his phone and Nishinoya laughing. Tsukishima smirked and that's when Hinata realized that he and Kageyama were leaning on each other when they were sleeping and it looked as if they were a couple.

The shorter male jumped up quickly which made Kageyama wake up and he blinked drowsily, wondering what was with all the commotion. He looked around him but couldn't figure out why everyone was freaking out.

Hinata had already ran off the bus, eager to get away from the embarrassing situation at hand. Kageyama still didn't know what was going on so he just grabbed his bag and made his way home. His phone vibrated in his pocket so Kageyama reached for it and unlocked the phone. His heart stopped. There was a picture message sent to him from Tanaka that he took when Kageyama and Hinata were sleeping.

"Shit."


	6. Weekend Shopping

Kageyama's phone vibrated violently, waking him up from his sleep filled with weird dreams, one was where his family turned into lobsters and tried to eat him. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it, squinting at the brightness. He had several new text messages which were all from Hinata. _What does he want?_ Kageyama thinks to himself as he clicks on the one of the messages which brought him to another screen.

**_From Hinata; 8:09 a.m._ **

_Hey, Kageyama! Let's hang out today!_

**_From Hinata; 8:12 a.m._ **

_Since we have no practice today and it's the weekend, we should go into town! I need some new volleyball shoes since_ _mine are_ _kinda old and worn out and I thought you'd like to come along!_

**_From Hinata; 8:26a.m._ **

_Kageyama? Wake up!_

**_From Hinata; 8:26 a.m._ **

_Waaaaaaaaaaake up!!!_

**_From Hinata; 8:27 a.m._ **

_Kageyama! Wakey wakey!!_

Kageyama groans and throws his phone onto his bed. He tries to go back to sleep but his phone begins to vibrate again. Having no way out of it, Kageyama gets up and throws on random articles of clothing. He grabs his phone and sees another text from Hinata telling him were they should meet.

Kageyama walks quietly down the stairs, trying not to make any noise as his parents came home late that night from a business trip. They were never home so it was only once in a while that he saw them. Probably when he gets back home, his parents will already be gone at work and won't get back until after he's already asleep.

The black haired male grabs a granola bar, his wallet, and his house key off of the counter before putting on a light jacket and making his way out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

Hinata had texted him telling him to meet at the intersection, the one that they always disperse at everyday after practice so he takes his time getting there, not really caring if he was late as he really didn't want to go. _But you get to see Hinata_. Kageyama shakes his head, trying to get rid of his thoughts.

Kageyama spots the redhead waiting for him. Hinata turns around and smiles when he sees Kageyama, waving hello.

"Did you _really_ have to wake me up so early in the morning just to go _shopping_?" The taller male asks.

"Yep!" Hinata nods. "Now let's go!"

Hinata had grabbed onto Kageyama's hand and dragged him along. Kageyama was blushing furiously, wide-eyed. _Does he not know what he's doing?_

The redhead was humming a random tune as he dragged Kageyama along behind him. Only then did he notice he wasn't supposed to be holding onto Kageyama's hand was when he looked around and saw people giving them weird looks. He couldn't find out why until he followed their gaze and it landed on their hands. Hinata quickly pulled his hand away and apologized, cheeks heating up.

"U-uh... the train should be at the station soon so we should hurry." Hinata tries to change the subject.

Kageyama nods in agreement so they hurry over to the station just in time for the 9:15 train.

When they arrive at their destination, Hinata scans the row of stores until his eyes land on the big sports store at the end. Hinata takes off towards the building, leaving Kageyama behind. "Wait up, dumbass! Slow down!"

Kageyama runs after him but when he gets in the store, he loses sight of the energetic redhead. "Seriously? Can he not have so much energy and stop running?"

The setter knew where he could find him, the volleyball section, so he made his way over to the back. He looked into the aisles until his eyes landed on Hinata who was looking at shoes.

"Can you please stop running off?" Kageyama asks him.

"Oops! Sorry!" Hinata doesn't look away from the shoes. "I like this kind but I can't find any in my size."

Kageyama kneels down next to Hinata and looks at the box in his hands. He looks at the shelf and finds the right size all the way in the back. Just as he reached his hand in to grab it, a familiar voice spoke out that made Kageyama's heart stop.

"Well look who it is, Tobio-chan!" Oikawa says.

Kageyama turns to face him, "What are you doing here?"

Hinata looks up and scurries away when he meets Oikawa's gaze.

"Just shopping for new knee pads." Oikawa replies nonchalantly. "Oh, and who's that?"

Hinata peeks out from behind the shelf. "I-I'm Hinata, Kageyama's friend... and teammate."

"So, Tobio-chan can actually make friends? That's interesting." Oikawa smirks. "Who would have thought the _King_ could be likable."

"Shut up!" Kageyama retorts, becoming angry.

Just as Kageyama was going to blow up from anger as Oikawa kept insulting him, fortunately Iwaizumi had found Oikawa and dragged him away, the setter still blubbering insults as Iwaizumi dragged him out of the store, completely forgetting about the knee pads.

"W-wasn't that the Grand King?" Hinata asks Kageyama, still scared of Oikawa.

Kageyama grumbles under his breath which Hinata takes as a yes. The redhead grabs the box of shoes off of the floor that Kageyama had pulled out for him and sat on the floor. "He's really scary looking. Just like you Kageyama!"

Kageyama whips around to give Hinata an angry look but Hinata just smiled. "But you're nicer though."

"S-shut up." Kageyama blushes. "Hurry up and try the shoes on so we can leave."

"But why? We're not in a hurry though." Hinata slips on the shoes and ties the laces. He checks to see if they were the right size and when they were, he takes them off and chucks them back into the box.

"I only came along because you said you needed new shoes and you found some so I want to go home." Kageyama replies.

"Oh come on. Stop being a party-pooper." Hinata laughs. "We came all the way out here so why don't we look around a few more stores and grab some lunch, okay?"

"F-fine..."

*********

"Man I'm stuffed." Hinata pats his stomach, feeling content.

The two had looked around a few stores afterwards and bought some things, later stopping to have lunch and now they were on their way to the station to take the train home.

"Oh! When we get back, do you want to head to the park so we can practice?" Hinata suggests.

"Sure." Kageyama agrees, eager to play volleyball.

They make it in time for the train and head back home in a comfortable silence. They walk over to the park that they pass everyday after school and just as Hinata was going to say that they didn't have a volleyball, Kageyama magically pulls one out of his bag.

Kageyama tosses the ball into the air and Hinata jumps up to spike it. The ball hits the ground forcefully then begins to roll away, Hinata chasing after it.

They then settle to pass it to each other back and forth, neither of them speaking until Kageyama breaks the silence. "So, um... Hinata. I was wondering... do... do you like anyone at the moment?"

"Huh? Why'd you ask that all of a sudden?" Hinata hits the ball back to Kageyama.

"I-I don't know. Just forget what I said." Kageyama catches the ball. "It's getting dark out so why don't we go back home."

"But I want to know." Hinata insists, walking side-by-side with the setter.

"Just forget about it, dumbass." Kageyama turns away from him. "I'll see you tomorrow..."

"But-." Hinata begins but Kageyama had already disappeared from sight. "What's up with him?"


	7. An Unfortunate Encounter

A week later, everything was going as usual. The same routine everyday and thankfully no bullies. Well, that was until Hinata went to school that day, completely unaware of what would happen later that day.

He arrived to school early so he'd have enough time to change for practice, beating Kageyama to the gym and their score was now 28-29. They had begun to practice harder everyday as the InterHigh Preliminaries were fast approaching. Everyone was learning new things that would help improve themselves and the team, hoping that these new skills would take them to Nationals, the Nationals they dreamt of going to for so long.

The sound of sneakers and volleyballs hitting the court filled the air. Shouts of encouragement lifted everyone's spirits as they practiced, knowing that they were improving and that they were helping the team.

An hour had passed. Floors had been mopped, equipment had been put away, and clothes had been changed back into school uniforms. They then all headed off towards their homeroom to start the day.

Hinata and Kageyama took a seat at their desk and waited for roll call. After being marked down for present, Hinata turned towards his notebook and pulled out a pencil. He wasn't exactly feeling like doing anything that day, since it was a Monday, so he thought he'd spend the day drawing. _I'll just get the notes from Kageyama tomorrow. I should be fine._

Kageyama turned his head in Hinata's direction to see him concentrating on something he was scribbling down in his notebook. _Oh no. It's one of those 'do nothing and draw' days again isn't it. Or he just forgot to complete his homework. Anyways, I'll just makes today's notes neater in case it's one of those days since he'll need to copy mine._

For the first half of the day, Hinata had payed no attention to class whatsoever. He had gotten called on a few times to answer some questions and thankfully Hinata had read ahead of time (shocker!) but it was just because he was bored with nothing to do one night and decided to pull out his textbook and start reading. He would answer the questions correctly then go back to his doodles that had already filled up several pieces of paper.

_DONG DONG DONG!_

"Alright everyone. That's the bell for lunch so you can put your pencils down for now." Their teacher said after the bell rang.

Hinata jumps up from his seat and grabs his lunch, going over to Kageyama to ask if he wanted to eat together but like always, Kageyama refuses. The taller male always wonders why he doesn't give up and stop asking but whatever goes on in Hinata's head must be the reason why he keeps asking. Maybe he thinks that if he asks enough times, Kageyama would finally agree but that would never happen.

"Fine then. Suit yourself." Hinata grumbles then takes his lunch with him out the door.

The redhead makes his way to the roof, glad that no one was there to judge him for eating by himself. He digs into his lunch, silently thanking his mother for making him good tasting food everyday.

After eating the last bit of food that he had, Hinata set it aside and leans against the wall, looking up at the blue sky dotted with clouds. He smiled to himself, the clouds that slowing moved across the sky were calming and he wished he could be up there for forever but he noticed that he only had a few minutes until the lunch period ended so he quickly got up and made his way down the steps.

Just as he turned a corner, a hand pushed him forcefully against the wall. Hinata gasped from shock and he opened his eyes to see five scary looking males wearing smirks.

"So, _you're_ the guy with the bare wrist that everyone's been talking about." One of them says, keeping a tight grip on Hinata's shirt to prevent him from escaping.

The male takes his free hand and grabs Hinata's wrist, looking at the bare skin in disgust. "How revolting. I can't believe someone like you was born. That's just messed up."

"Please let me go, you're hurting me." Hinata squeaks.

"Nah, I don't think so." The male tightens his grip, his knuckles turning white.

Hinata tries to get away but the guy kicks his legs out from under him and the redhead falls to the ground. "Now now. Why are you in such a hurry? Vermin like you must be taken care of so that's what we're here to do." He says and looks back at his friends, motioning for them to help him.

Just as Hinata was about to call out for help, one of them kicks him in the stomach, cutting him off. Another punches him in the jaw, a nasty cracking sound could be heard.

The gang continues to throw punches and kicks at Hinata. He could do nothing so he sat there, taking the blows. No one was there to help him, the bell signaling that lunch had ended, had rung a while ago so no one was out in the halls.

After a few more fists to the face, the gang left Hinata crying on the floor, going back to their classes just in case someone where to see them beating up another student.

Hinata tried to sit up, wincing in pain from the sudden movement. He reached his hand up to his lip and pulled it away to see blood on his fingertips. Struggling to stand, Hinata tries to get to the bathroom to clean himself up, not wanting to arrive to class looking all bloody.

He knew that he wasn't going to practice that day. Even though how much he loved volleyball, it would hurt too much and he didn't want his teammates to worry about him. He didn't want other people's sympathy so he would just go home after school lets out.

Hinata wipes off his face with a few dampened paper towels and when he looks presentable enough, he walks back to class while trying his hardest to not look like he was in pain.

The redhead opens the classroom door and everyone turns their head in his direction, shock filling their faces. When Kageyama sees the cuts and bruises on his face, he grows furious. How _dare_ someone do that to him. How _dare_ they do that so someone who hasn't done anything wrong to deserve it.

Kageyama gets up from his seat and pushes Hinata out the door, completely ignoring his teacher who told him to sit back down.

"Who did this to you?" Kageyama asks, holding onto Hinata's shoulders.

"Some group of guys. And it's okay, I'm used to this so please don't worry." Hinata tells him, not looking Kageyama in the eyes.

"How can I not worry?! You're hurt! Some idiots beat you up and you're telling me that it's fine?! It's not fine at all!" Kageyama yells, slightly shaking his shoulders.

"Kageyama, please. I said I'm fine so it's alright, okay?" Hinata could feel tears threatening to spill.

"I don't believe you're okay." Kageyama tries to calm down. "Look, you're even crying."

Hinata reaches up and feels something wet falling down his cheek. _I guess trying to not cry didn't work after all. God I'm so weak._ Hinata wipes the tear away but more continue to fall. He breaks down into a crying mess and Kageyama doesn't want to see Hinata like this. He pulls him into a tight embrace and rests his head on top of Hinata's. "Shhh, it's okay."

"I-I'm sorry." Hinata sobs. "I'm s-so sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. I'll get them back. I'll get them back for hurting you." Kageyama says softly.

Hinata couldn't respond as he was unable to form words. They stay in the embrace until Hinata had calmed down. He wiped the last tear away and gave Kageyama a small smile. "Thank you."

*********

The rest of the day passed by quickly. Kageyama took Hinata to the nurse where she put bandages on his face and sent them off back to class. Kageyama apologized to the teacher for leaving when he wasn't supposed to but the teacher understood and let it slide.

After school, even though Hinata was already planning on not going, Kageyama told him to go home and not go to practice. He would explain to Daichi why he couldn't make it but he would have to tell a lie. Hinata told Kageyama to tell the captain that he wasn't feeling well so he went home to rest. The taller male said goodbye to Hinata and told him that he'd see him tomorrow but that only made Hinata smile sadly. He wasn't going to school the next day. There was no way he could possibly go to school after what happened that day.

_I hope you understand, Kageyama._


	8. Absent

"Shouyou? Aren't you going to school today?" Hinata's mother knocks on his door after not seeing him come out of his room that morning. There was no response so she opens the door quietly. "Sho?"

Hinata throws the covers off of his head and looks at her tiredly. His mother sighs and sits down next to him. "I understand that you don't want to go to school today, but promise me you'll go back tomorrow, okay?"

Hinata nods slowly. His mother kisses his forehead before leaving and closing the door behind her. He could hear Natsu ask their mother why he wasn't getting up from the other side of the door and she says something he couldn't make out. As he was about to go back to sleep, his door opened and he felt someone jump onto his bed. Hinata looks up to see Natsu looking at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, Shouyou." She pouts. "Those guys are mean and need to be shown a lesson!"

"No, it's fine." He reassures her. "I'll just try to avoid them from now on so don't worry about me."

"But-!" Natsu starts to says.

"No buts, now go get ready for school, okay." Hinata ruffles her hair.

"Okay! I'll see you after school!" She hops off the bed and leaves his room.

Hinata stares at the plain ceiling above him, thoughts running through his head. His phone vibrated next to him but he paid no mind. The redhead threw his blanket over his head and shut his eyes, thoughts filling his mind and he soon was consumed by sleep.

*********

Kageyama yawns loudly. He hardly got any sleep that night because he couldn't stop thinking about Hinata and what happened to him earlier that day. He was going to give those guys a piece of his mind for payback.

As Kageyama entered the school grounds, he was confused as to why he didn't see Hinata's bike in the bike rack. _Maybe he's just running a little late?_ Kageyama thought as he continued on to the club room.

After changing, Hinata still wasn't there. "Hey, Kageyama. Is Hinata still not feeling better?" Sugawara asks.

"Hm? I don't know. He hasn't said anything to me this morning." Kageyama responds, still playing the sick card so they won't find out.

The setter pulls out his phone and scrolls through his contacts and clicks on the one he was searching for. He types a quick message then sends it, stuffing it back into his bag.

"I heard Hinata got beat up by a few guys yesterday." Nishinoya whispers to Tanaka as they walk to the gym.

Kageyama clenches his fists as he overheard what Nishinoya said. _How did he find out? Did someone tell him? Does the rest of the team know?_

After practice, Kageyama checked his phone to see no new messages. He stuffed it into his pocket and made his way to homeroom.

"Kageyama, is Hinata here today?" Their teacher asks when he comes across Hinata's name on the list of students and doesn't see the redhead sitting in his seat.

"No." Kageyama replies and pulls out his phone again, checking to see if Hinata responded. He sighs when there weren't any notifications and places it on his desk.

*********

Just as Kageyama was making his way to the gym, Sugawara stops him in the hallway and says, "Oh! Since Hinata hasn't shown up today, you can skip practice to see if he's feeling better."

"Really?" Kageyama asks.

"Yep! And I'm sure he's missed some notes so you can give them to him." He smiles.

"Okay, thank you." Kageyama says. Sugawara gives him Hinata's address so Kageyama tightens his grip on the strap of his bag and runs off towards his house.

 _How does Hinata do this everyday?_ Kageyama struggles up the hill, legs burning. _Sure he rides his bike but isn't it harder?_ The setter huffs as he makes it to the top and pulls out a paper that Sugawara gave him which he wrote Hinata's address on. He looked at it as he walked down the road and came to a stop in front of a small house.

Kageyama rings the doorbell and it opens to a smaller version of Hinata. She looks up as him and shouts, "Shouyou! Tobio-chan is here!"

 _She knows who I am? But I've never met her before... wait, then that means Hinata's talked about me outside of school._ Kageyama starts to blush and looks away, hoping it isn't noticeable.

"Hmm?" Hinata appears in the doorway. His eyes widen when he sees Kageyama and he runs out of the room.

Kageyama enters the house and takes off his shoes. He thanks Hinata's mother for letting him in and she points in the direction of Hinata's room where he ran off to.

"Hinata! Why weren't you at school?" Kageyama opens his door.

"I-I wasn't feeling well." Hinata lies, not wanting Kageyama to think of him as weak since he didn't go to school that day because of a few bullies.

"You're obviously lying." Kageyama sees right through Hinata.

"It's true!" Hinata tries to keep up his act.

"No it's not. Your voice gets higher when you're lying." Kageyama doesn't believe a word Hinata says.

"It's not!" The red head tries to lower his voice to the normal octave.

"Whatever." Kageyama puts his bag on the floor and rummages around it for a few moments before pulling out a few pieces of paper. "I knew you didn't take notes yesterday and you weren't at school today so here are my notes."

Hinata blushes before taking the papers. "T-thank you! Um... would you like to have a seat?" He points to the floor. "Or are you going home?"

Just as Kageyama was about to reply, Hinata's mother comes into the room and says, "If you'd like, you can stay and have dinner with us?"

"Would that be okay? Kageyama turns to Hinata, asking for permission.

"Sure!" He smiles. "My mom's food is _really_ good!"

"Okay. I'll call for you when it's done." She closes the door behind her.

Hinata pulls out his notebooks and starts to write down what Kageyama had written. He puffs out his cheeks as he jots down the notes but freezes when he feels Kageyama poke his cheek.

"How are you feeling? Does your face still hurt?" Kageyama asks.

"I'm okay. My face still kind of stings but I'm fine." Hinata turned towards the dark haired male, his face turning red.

Kageyama keeps his hand on Hinata's face and runs his thumb over a bruise under his eye, Hinata's face turning a darker shade of red.

"Boys! Dinner's rea-." Hinata's mother opens the door and stops in her tracks. "Oops! Sorry!" she apologizes as she just interfered.

Hinata and Kageyama move away from each other quickly, blushing furiously. "H-how about we eat dinner." Hinata gets up and scrambles out the door

 _Shit, this isn't good. His mom probably suspects something going on between us, which nothing is. Sitting at the table is going to be so awkward now. Oh god._ Kageyama thinks as he sits down next to Hinata, making sure to leave plenty of space between them.

"So, Kageyama. We heard lots about you from Shouyou!" His mother says cheerfully across the table.

"Is that so..." Kageyama doesn't look up, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Yep! And he said that your wrist is bare too which is very interesting." She grins. "To think my son would finally meet someone who's just like him!"

Hinata could read that smile of hers. It was her 'I know something' grin and his heart starts to beat faster. _Please don't bring that up. Please don't bring that up._ Hinata repeats in his mind.

Thankfully his mother didn't say anything more and they continued having an awkwardly silent dinner. Kageyama picks up his bag and stands by the door, thanking them for letting him stay for dinner.

"Bye, Kageyama! See you tomorrow!" Hinata says goodbye.

"You better be at school." Kageyama doesn't turn around.

"I will, so don't worry!" The redhead replies before closing the door.

Just as Hinata turns around, he's faced with Natsu and his mother with a smirk on their faces. "Shouyou has a crush! Shouyou has a crush!" Natsu jumps up and down.

"N-no I don't!" Hinata's face heats up and he runs away towards his room, throwing himself on his bed.

_Lies. I'm lying. I need to let him know soon. I need to tell him my feelings before it's too late. But the problem is, will he accept my feelings?_


	9. Confession and a Name

_Okay, I have to act natural. Just walk in like I usually do and I should be fine, right?_ Hinata thinks as he opens the door to the club room. Heads turn towards his direction and he lowers his head to try to hide his face and walks past his teammates so he could get dressed for morning practice.

All eyes were on him and he could hear whispers. After the feeling that everyone was staring at him had disappeared, he quickly got changed so no one could see the bruises but he knew that some had saw. He silently thanked no one in particular that they hadn't asked questions. _They know then. They all knew. I look weak, I tried to look strong but that didn't work. I don't want to be here. I want to go home._

Hinata is snapped out of his thoughts when he feels a presence next to him so he turns his head and sees Kageyama holding a volleyball in his hands. "Do you want to work on the new quick?"

Hinata's eyes light up and he nods furiously. "Yes!" He runs onto the court and watches as Kageyama tosses the ball into his direction. The redhead jumps up and just as the ball stopped it's momentum right when it reached the palm of his hand, he hits it forcefully, the ball landing on the other side of the net with a ' _wack'._

"Ahh! I haven't played in a few days and I missed this feeling!" Hinata looks at his hand. "One more, Kageyama!"

Kageyama retrieves the ball and sets it again, Hinata hitting it. The rest of the morning went by quickly. Hinata wished he could practice more but was shoved out the door by Nishinoya before locking up the gym.

"Can we practice more during lunch?" Hinata asks Kageyama as they walk to their classroom.

"Sure." Kageyama replies which shocks Hinata.

"What?! So you're _not_ going to refuse?" Hinata laughs. "This is new!"

"I'm only doing it because you hadn't shown up for practice and we have a match soon." He replies.

"Well, you still changed and I think that's an improvement!" Hinata says.

*********

"Let's go!" Hinata shoves his lunch in Kageyama's face. He hoped that the setter would join him for lunch before playing volleyball.

Kageyama got up and grabbed his lunch as well. Hinata smiled, glad that Kageyama would also join him for lunch. They make their way outside and sit in the shade provided by a tree. The redhead opens his lunch and starts to shovel the food into his mouth, Kageyama scolding him to slow down because he could choke.

"Do you want to try this?" Hinata holds out his chopsticks with something his mom put in his lunch that morning.

"No, I'm fine." Kageyama says, eating his own food.

"Don't be shy! Here!" Hinata shoves his chopsticks into Kageyama's mouth.

As this was happening, Nishinoya and Tanaka were around the corner, watching the two. The Libero started snickering, a plan forming in his mind.

"What do you two think you're doing?" A stern voice says from behind them. They turn around to be met with Sugawara with his arms crossed.

"We were totally not spying on the two _lovebirds_ aren't we, Ryuu?" Nishinoya turns to look at Tanaka for agreement.

"Yes! We aren't at all!" Tanaka yells a little too loudly which makes Hinata and Kageyama look in their direction.

"Shh! Now leave them be." Sugawara grabs onto their uniforms and pushes them towards the doors. "And don't you _dare_ tell anyone."

"Fine~." Nishinoya says. "But everyone will find out sooner or later."

"Just keep quiet about it. I'm sure they wouldn't be pleased if rumors start spreading around." Sugawara warns them.

"We got it." Tanaka mumbles.

While Sugawara had managed to get the two second years to stop spying, Hinata and Kageyama were left confused when they heard someone yell.

"Who was that?" Kageyama asks.

"Dunno. Sounded like Tanaka though." Hinata responds.

"Do... do you think he saw?" Kageyama's face pales.

Hinata's face pales as well and he starts mentally freaking out. "If he did, we're so dead."

Hinata gets up and checks around them, making sure no one else was there if Tanaka had been. When the coast was clear, Hinata sighed in relief. He walks back, Kageyama already having a volleyball in his hands. The redhead smiles and he rolls up his sleeves.

They passed the ball to each together, a comfortable silence falling over them. A few times Hinata would poorly receive the ball and it didn't return back to Kageyama like it should and rolled away, Hinata having to run after it.

The bell rang, signaling that lunch had ended, so they grabbed their things and walked back to the classroom to finish up the rest of the school day.

*********

After practice, the sun was setting which made the sky look warm with all the oranges and reds. Hinata wheeled his bike along side him, the chain rattling. Kageyama walked next to him, hands stuffed in his jacket as the wind made the air slightly cold. The black haired male stopped in his tracks which made Hinata stop as well and he looked behind him. "Kageyama?"

"Hinata. Can I talk to you for a second?" Kageyama doesn't look at Hinata.

"Sure? What's up?" Hinata turns his bike around and faces Kageyama.

Kageyama pauses for a moment before speaking." I... I don't know how to say this but um... Hinata, I like you."

Hinata's heart stopped. He searched Kageyama's eyes for anything that could mean that he was lying and he was doing this get a reaction out of him but he was telling the truth. The setter's face was a dark shade of red and he was fidgeting.

Hinata smiled, overflowing with emotions. He was contemplating whether or not to tell him his true feelings but chose the latter. Hinata was going to confess sometime later that week if he got the courage to do so but since Kageyama already confessed, he would also tell him his true feelings. "I-I like you too, Kageyama." He didn't care anymore. He had finally got this off his chest and he felt weight being lifted off his shoulders.

Kageyama looked at him joyfully, a bright smile appearing on his face. _Thank god he feels the same!_ Kageyama stepped closer to Hinata and took his face in his hands. He looked deeply into his eyes that shined brightly in the light of the setting sun and leaned down, closing off the gap between them with a kiss.

Hinata winced as he felt a sharp pain on his wrist and he looked down at it to see _'Tobio'_ inked into his arm. It must have been the same for Kageyama as well because he also looked down and saw _'Shouyou'_ written carefully in ink on his wrist.

They both looked up at each other, shock filling their faces for they had finally, after all those years of being picked on for the one thing everyone would eventually have and they wouldn't, found their soulmate.


	10. A Not-So Joyful Outcome

"You're my soulmate." Hinata breathes, looking at Kageyama's shock filled face.

Kageyama nods. He grabs Hinata in an embrace and holds onto him tightly. "I thought... I thought I'd be lonely forever. I thought I'd never have a soulmate but I have one, and it's you." Kageyama says. "I'm so happy."

Hinata couldn't hold back the tears that had blurred his vision. He sobs into Kageyama's jacket. He would finally stop being made fun of. He'd finally found someone to grow old with. He found someone to spend his whole life together with. Hinata was happy. The happiest he's ever been.

"I'm so happy." Hinata chokes out, gripping tightly into Kageyama's jacket.

They stay like for a while, not needing to say anything. They held onto each other, never wanting to let go but they couldn't. Kageyama pulls away and wipes away a tear that fell down Hinata's cheeks. "It's getting late. We should head home, okay?"

"Alright." Hinata whispers. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kageyama."

"Yep. See you." Kageyama kisses Hinata's forehead before disappearing down the street, leaving the redhead who smiled brightly and hopped on his bike, pedaling quickly the rest of the way home, eager to tell his mother and Natsu.

Hinata tosses his bike to the side and opens the front door. "Mom! Natsu! You'll never believe what just happened!"

"Hm? Shouyou, what is it?" His mother says from the kitchen, pausing her cooking.

"I've found my soulmate!" Hinata throws out his arm to show her.

His mother gaps in surprise. "Shouyou! How wonderful!"

"Sho!" Natsu runs up to Hinata. "I _knew_ it was Tobio-chan all along!"

Hinata turns towards his mother to see if she also thought it was Kageyama as well and she replies, "Once you told me last year you met someone without a letter, I knew that you would meet again someday and that you two would be soulmates."

"Hmm." Hinata thinks. "It's kinda crazy actually. We hated each other a lot when we first met. Who knew that this would happen!"

"Well how about you go get washed up. Dinner will be done soon." His mother says before going back to fix dinner.

Hinata runs to the bathroom and starts the bath. After the tub fills up with hot water, the redhead hops in and sighs in content. He looks at his arm and smiles, tracing his fingers over Kageyama's name. _Maybe he'll let me call him by his first name from now on._

After bathing, Hinata throws on a shirt and a pair of shorts and sits down at the table. He eats his food quickly and before anyone else was finished, he took his dishes to the sink and went to his room. Hinata plopped down on his bed and crawled under the covers. He pulled out his phone to see a new text message.

**From Kageyama; 8:32 p.m.**

_Goodnight Hinata. See you tomorrow._

The redhead blushed and types a quick reply. He locks his phone and puts it on the shelf behind him. Hinata stuffs his face in his pillow and closes his eyes, a smile plastered on his face and he soon falls asleep.

*********

"Kageyama~!" Hinata yells, throwing himself at the setter.

"Wait, dumbass!" Kageyama quickly catches the energetic red head.

"Hehehe." Hinata giggles, wrapping his legs around Kageyama's waist and arms around his neck. "I missed you!"

"You just saw me yesterday though." Kageyama replies.

"I know I know." Hinata smiles and kisses his nose.

"You guys are so gross." Tsukishima says as he passes the couple, a disgusted look on his face.

"What'd you say?! Wanna fight?!" Hinata hops down and looks up angrily at the other middle blocker.

"Who would want to fight you anyways." Tsukishima looks down at Hinata. "You'd lose so there would be no point."

"Ahh!" Hinata launches himself at the blond but he reaches his arm out and stops the redhead.

"See, look at how weak you are. You can't even get close enough." Tsukishima laughs.

Hinata makes disgruntled noises as he tries to reach for the blond but he holds him back. Kageyama sighs and tugs Hinata away, not wanting to permit the fight even further. "Gah! Let me at him, Kageyama!"

"Do you seriously want to get kicked out of the club?!" Kageyama yells, pulling Hinata to the side.

"No! And why are you yelling at me? What did I do?!" Hinata shoots back.

Kageyama was growing furious. He tried to calm down but couldn't and he then let go of Hinata's shirt, walking off in his own.

The redhead looks at him in disbelief as he continues on. _What did I do? Why is he angry at me?!_ The only way to find out was to ask him so Hinata took off and quickly caught up with the taller male.

"Look, I don't know why you're so angry but can you please tell me what's going on?" Hinata asks calmly.

"What's it to you?" Kageyama says coldly. "It's none of your business so please leave me alone."

"It _is_ my business. We're together or have you forgotten?!" Hinata raises his voice. "Something's bothering you and I want to know what's wrong!"

"I said it's none of your business!" Kageyama turns around to face him.

Hinata's eyes started to water. He couldn't believe they were fighting. Sure they fought before but it was usually over something stupid like who could clean the floors the fastest or to see who could beat the other to the gym. No, this was something beyond that. Something Hinata wished would never happen to them. They were going so well those past few months after discovering they were soulmates, so why now?

"Kageyama." Hinata manages to get out as tears start to fall. "Please. W-what's wrong?"

Hinata could see something flash in Kageyama's eyes when he saw him start to cry but the setter says nothing and turns back around, walking into the school to find an empty hallway where he could cool off and no one would bother him.

The redhead watches as he retreats and shakes his head in dismay. _Why are you doing this, Kageyama?_ He wipes away the tears with his sleeve and tries his best to put on a happy face as he walks into the school. _Calm down, calm down, calm down._ Hinata thinks. _I need to calm down._ He pushes open the classroom door and takes a seat at his desk. Hinata lies his head down on the wood and closes his eyes, telling his mind to let him sleep as he tried to block out everything around him.

Kageyama came back just before the bell rang and looked over at Hinata's desk where he saw a tear slip down his face as he slept. His heart hurt but he didn't do anything. He sat down in his seat and listened to the voices around him.

_"Hey, Hinata's crying."_

_"Is he okay?"_

_"Did something happen?"_

_"Haha. What a loser."_

Kageyama clenched his fists. It was completely his fault for making Hinata like this. He knew he shouldn't have lashed out at him because it wasn't his fault at all but anger took the best of him. His parents were getting a divorce. He heard the news last night as they called him downstairs to the dinner table and that's when they broke the news to him.

[Flashback]

"Tobio! Can you come downstairs for a few minutes? Your father and I need to speak to you." Kageyama's mother calls from the bottom of the steps.

The black haired male sighs and puts down his phone. He makes his way down the stairs and takes a seat at the table where his mother and father both had a serious look on their faces.

"Yes?" Kageyama says, looking at his parents from across the table.

"Son." Kageyama's father begins. "Your mother and I have very important news. We're getting a divorce."

Kageyama felt his heart stop. _They're getting a divorce? But why? They seemed so happy together? Why would they do this?! Were they not thinking about me?! Do they not understand how I would feel about this?!_

"How could you." Kageyama says lowly. "How dare you get a divorce and ruin my life!"

Kageyama stands up from his seat. "Do you not care about me or something?! I hardly ever see you two and now you're getting a divorce?!"

"Tobio. Please calm down." Kageyama's mother reaches for his hand but he yanks it away.

"We need to finish talking here." His father sends Kageyama a look which makes him sit back down in his seat, face red from anger.

"As we were trying to say." His father begins. "Yes, your mother and I are splitting up but, you can't live with one of us so we decided on a dual custody. Your mother will stay in this house and I found a very nice place two hours away that you will have to go to every other week."

Kageyama was beyond angry. He was burning with rage. He couldn't take it anymore so he stood up, knocking his chair over, and ran towards his room while locking it behind him.

"Tobio! We haven't finished talking to you!" Kageyama's mother yells from the other side of the door.

"I don't care what you have to say!" Kageyama bursts out. "I hate you!"

Silence. Kageyama realizes what he just said and stops. "Mom-."

"No, I understand." His mother whispers sadly from across the door. "I'm sorry for angering you. Goodnight."

"Wait, mom!" Kageyama opens his door but his mother had already retreated to her room where quiet sobs could be heard. "Shit! I screwed up."

He went back into his room and knocked things off of his desk forcefully, breaking his possessions in the process. _God I messed up!_

[End of Flashback]

Kageyama looked down. _I need to apologize._ The setter looks over at Hinata to see if he could talk to him but homeroom was almost ending so he had no time.

_I'll just apologize at lunch. Wait, he probably won't want to talk to me! I made him cry and told him to leave me alone! What do I do?!_

_Please don't let him hate me. Anything but that._


	11. Apology

"Hinata." Kageyama stands next to the red head's desk after the bell rang. "Can we talk?"

Hinata looks up at him sadly. "Sure." He replies, his voice so small Kageyama could hardly hear him.

The two head to the roof and sit down on the ground opposite of each other when they get there. Kageyama looks down at his hands that were slightly shaking and says, "Hinata, I'm so sorry."

Hinata doesn't reply and sits there in silence, not looking at Kageyama as he spoke. "Listen... I-I didn't mean to yell at you this morning. Something happened last night with my parents and I, and I just got so worked up over it and took it out on you. I'm so so sorry."

Hinata lifts his head. "What happened?" He asks.

Kageyama pauses for a few moments before responding. "My parents are getting a divorce."

Hinata freezes. "What?"

"Yeah, they told me last night." Kageyama sighs. "Didn't even bother thinking about how I would feel."

"Who are you going to live with then?" Hinata asks, taking Kageyama's hands into his.

"My parents are going to have dual custody over me. I go to live with my mom for a week and the next with my dad." Kageyama tells him. "But my dad got a place two hours away so I have to take the train to school every morning."

Hinata tightens his hold on Kageyama's hands. "That means when you're with your dad, I can't see you as often?"

Kageyama nods slowly. "Only at school and during club."

"That's not fair." Hinata says quietly, resting his head on the setter's shoulder.

"Hinata?" Kageyama places his chin on Hinata's head.

"Hm?"

"Are you still angry at me?"

"Of course not. I was just a little shaken up, that's all." Hinata responds.

Kageyama places a kiss on top of the ginger's head. "Do you want to eat lunch?"

Hinata shakes his head. "I'm not really hungry."

Kageyama hums in response. He wraps his arms around the shorter male and pulls him close. The cold wind blew against them and Hinata shivered. Autumn was turning into winter and the air had turned drastically cooler.

"It's cold. How about we go inside." Kageyama suggests.

Hinata agrees and they both stand up. Kageyama reaches for Hinata's hand who then intertwines their fingers. They walk back to their classroom but the redhead stops when Kageyama reaches for the door handle.

"Can we skip and walk around the halls?" Hinata says. "I don't want to go back to class."

Kageyama was going to protest but seeing the look of sadness on Hinata's face made him change his mind so he went through with it. They walk past other students who rush to get back to their classrooms and roam the halls in silence.

*********

"Hurry! Before you get caught!" Hinata says as he peeks into the classroom.

As they skipped the rest of class that day, they only realized they left their bags in the room and had so get them so Hinata sent Kageyama on a mission to retrieve them.

The black haired male observes the room and makes a dash for his and Hinata's desk. Just as he picks up his bag, a stern voice says, "Ah, Kageyama. How nice of you to show up, _at the end of class._ "

Kageyama freezes in his tracks. He turns to look at his teacher who had an angry and disappointed look on his face. "Where were you and Hinata?"

"We-we were walking through the halls, sir." Kageyama decides to tell the truth.

"Is that so. Then if you have time to skip class then I presume you also have time to stay afterwards. How does that sound?" Their teacher says.

"Please, sir. We have club activities that we need to go to right now." Kageyama worriedly replies.

"No worries. I can always tell your coach that you were staying afterwards as you insisted upon skipping my class." The teacher crosses his arms.

Kageyama looks over at Hinata's direction for help and the redhead was motioning for him to grab his bag and make a run for it. Kageyama looked at him like he was crazy but Hinata seemed sure of it.

 _I'm going to get in so much trouble for this._ Kageyama throws his bag over his shoulder and runs across the room to grab Hinata's and dashes towards the door.

"Kageyama! Hold it!" Their teacher yells after him but Kageyama grabs onto Hinata's hand and tugs him through the hallway.

"W-we're going t-to get detention t-tomorrow." Kageyama struggles to get out as his lungs felt as if they were on fire. That was the fastest he's ever run in his life and it wasn't a good decision.

Hinata was lying on the ground and started to laugh. "That was fun!"

"No it wasn't, dumbass. I think I still might have a heart attack!" Kageyama rests his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

Hinata just laughs and rolls over to his stomach before getting up. He dusts his clothes off and straightens his bag on his shoulder. "When we walk into the club room, make sure to look as normal as possible."

Kageyama nods and does the same. They brace themselves in front of the door then Hinata opens it. The two walk in normally and no one questions them. They get dressed and walk to the gym, glancing at the door every two minutes.

"I think we should be safe." Hinata whispers to Kageyama.

Kageyama nods and they practice like usual until the gym door gets thrown open and the principal is standing there with their teacher who had an angry look on his face.

"Hinata! Kageyama! A word please." Their principal motions for them to come over. "You too, Sawamura."

Daichi gives the two a weird look and joins Hinata and Kageyama. The two were fidgeting and their faces were pale. They looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact with the principal and a very angry teacher.

"Boys, I'm very disappointed in you." Their principal begins.

Daichi sighs and asks, "What did they do?"

"They decided to skip my class and run away when I told them to stay afterwards." The teacher crosses his arms.

Hinata and Kageyama feel a dark aura from beside them and slowly turn their head to see Daichi who had a very scary and angry look on his face. The two jumped back and cowered in fear. "We're sorry, captain!" They both say at the same time.

"Kageyama. Hinata." Daichi begins. "You two will not participate in club activities for a week as punishment."

"What?!" The two yell in surprise.

"Now you both go home. If I catch you in the gym, the term of your punishment will increase." Daichi pushes them towards the door. He apologizes to the teacher and principal and they leave.

Kageyama and Hinata stare at their captain in shock as he closes the door with a bang. They look at each other, wide-eyed. Hinata grabs his hair and yells, "Ah! We screwed up!"

"No shit, dumbass!" Kageyama gives him an 'are-you-serious-right-now' look.

Hinata runs towards the door and pleads, "Let us in! We're sorry!"

The door doesn't budge. Hinata looks back at Kageyama and drops his head, no luck. The setter sighs, "Let's just finish up practice outside."

The redhead beams. After a few hours when practice ended, the pair walked home and said their goodbyes. Hinata skipped dinner and went off to bed, letting that day's events flow through his mind and a tear slipped down his face.


	12. Snowy Weekend

The week passed slowly. As Hinata and Kageyama were kicked out of the gym, they were forced to practice outside in the cold - eventually not being able to practice at all as the temperature had dropped drastically to below freezing.

"Brrrr!" Hinata shivers, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"You should have worn a thicker jacket." Kageyama states but takes off his own jacket and puts it around the red heads shoulders.

Hinata gives him a warm smile which makes Kageyama blush. The redhead looks up at the dark sky and and holds his hand out, a snowflake falling onto his palm and then melting into a little puddle. "Kageyama, it's snowing!"

Kageyama hums in response. He wasn't a big fan of snow and hated the cold - it was ironic that he did as he was born in December. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets to retain heat and tried to cover his face with his other jacket he wore.

Hinata wheeled his bike next to him and hummed a random tune before shouting, "Oh! My mom is making a stew tonight and wanted to know if you'd like to join us for some?"

"Okay." Kageyama says. If it was something warm he could eat, he'd gladly accept it.

"Yay!" Hinata smiles happily.

The snow had started to worsen so the two quickened their pace and made it to the Hinata household covered in snow.

They took off their soaking wet jackets and hung them up next to the door along with Hinata's damp scarf and hat. The house was warm and comforting, the smell of food wafting out of the kitchen.

"Welcome home, Shouyou, Tobio." Hinata's mother says warmly. "I filled up the bath so why don't you warm up before dinner, alright?"

"'Kay!" Hinata says. He goes into his mother's room and comes back with a pile of clothes and a towel and gives them to Kageyama. "They're my dad's old clothes so you can wear them."

Hinata let Kageyama take a bath first then took one himself afterwards. He ran a towel through his hair tugged on a sweatshirt, glad to finally be warm and out of his cold clothes. He took at seat at the table next to Kageyama and across from Natsu who was blabbering nonsense to the black haired male who look very uncomfortable.

Hinata just laughs at the look on his face and Kageyama shoots him the look of 'thanks-for-helping-me-NOT'.

"So boys, how's school going?" Hinata's mother asks as she sets a pot down on the middle of the table and takes a seat.

"Good." They both say at the same time.

*********

After dinner, Kageyama helps Hinata wash the dishes and the redhead jumps on the sofa face first with a mound of blankets in his arms. He pokes his head up when Kageyama sits down next to him and he drapes the blankets around him and himself, burrowing under the thick material. "Let's watch a movie." Hinata says, voice muffled.

Kageyama tries to get up to put in a movie but the blankets were confining him.

"Natsu!" Hinata yells. "Can you put a movie in the DVD player?!"

"Stop being lazy, Sho!" She yells back.

Hinata puffs out his cheeks. He slides under the blankets and crawls across the floor to the TV. Mumbling, he skims across the movie titles and picks one, crawling back to the sofa and climbing under the blankety-warmth. He latches onto Kageyama and his eyes are glued to the screen as he turns on the TV.

"What movie is it?" Kageyama ask, wrapping his arms around the shorter male.

"Just wait, you'll see soon." The redhead replies, pressing the fast-forward button to get to the title screen.

A new screen pops up to the title screen of an old movie that everyone has watched at least once in their life.

"My Neighbor Totoro. Seriously?" Kageyama laughs. "Are you a kid?"

Hinata blushed. "I-It's a good movie, okay!"

"Yeah, fine."

About halfway through the movie, soft snores leave Hinata's mouth as he had fallen asleep, curled up to Kageyama under a layer of warm blankets. The setter kisses the top of his head and closes his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Hinata's mother comes into the living room to tell them that she was going to bed and a smile appears on her face when she sees the two, Kageyama's arms wrapped protectively around Hinata. She turns off the TV and the light and heads to her room before whispering, "Good night, you two."

*********

"Sho!" Hinata wakes up to the sound of his name being called.

"Hmm?" The red head mumbles, rubbing his eyes.

He looks over to see Natsu standing there with a huge smile on her face, "The snow! It snowed a lot last night!"

Hinata looks over at one of the windows to see snow piled high on the ground. A smile lifts the corners of his mouth and he shakes Kageyama awake. "Let's go outside!" He bursts out and clambers to the front door where he pulls on his shoes and tugs a coat on over his arms. The setter follows him, still half-asleep, and lazily pulls on his jacket and shoes.

The redhead opens the door and runs outside, grinning widely at the snow. Kageyama shivers as the cold wind hits him. "Do we really have to be outside? It's cold. I hate the cold."

"Yes! Now come over here!" The redhead yells, motioning for Kageyama to walk over to him.

"What do you want-." Kageyama gets cut off as Hinata jumps on him and they fall over onto a pile of snow. "What the hell, dumbass! What was that for?!"

Hinata laughs and stuffs a handful of snow in his face, running away as Kageyama reaches out for him. "It's on!" The setter yells and chases Hinata around the yard.

"Hahaha!" Hinata laughs as he dodges a snowball. "You'll never catch me!"

The redhead scoops up a handful of snow and packs it into a weirdly shaped ball and throws it at Kageyama, hitting him in the shoulder. The setter throws another snowball his way and manages to hit him in the chest.

"Ah! I've been shot!" Hinata dramatically falls to the ground clutching his chest. "Goodbye world!" And lays in the snow.

Kageyama walks over to the motionless redhead and pokes him. Hinata jumps up and tackles him. He giggles and places a kiss on his nose before crawling away and starting to make a pile of snowballs.

*********

"I'm tired~." Hinata slumps onto the floor.

All morning they were outside chasing each other around the yard and trying to dodge snowballs that were pelted at them. Now they were exhausted and all Hinata wanted to do was sleep the day away.

"Do you want hot chocolate?" Hinata turns his head to look at Kageyama who was taking off his shoes.

"Sure." The setter replies.

Hinata slowly gets up and makes his way to the kitchen where he makes the hot drinks and meets Kageyama in the living room with two mugs. He hands one to the dark haired male and sits down next to him, cold, red hands wrapped around the hot mug.

"Tobio?" Hinata's mother comes into the room. "Are you staying the night again or will you be going home?"

"I'll stay here if that's alright." He says.

"That's alright with me." She says warmly. "Just make sure to tell your parents, okay?"

Kageyama nods and she leaves. He takes a sip of the hot liquid and his cold body is immediately warmed. He leans against Hinata and places a kiss on the top of his head.

"I love you, Shouyou."

Hinata was surprised that he called him by his first name but smiled happily.

"I love you too, Tobio."


	13. Scars, Tears, and Regret

*****TRIGGER WARNING*****

Kageyama went home the day after. He told Hinata he had to take the train that night to his father's new house two hours away. Hinata didn't want him to go but Kageyama said that he'd see him at school the next day so he shouldn't worry.

Worry was all Hinata could do. He was a very anxious person and worried for no apparent reason, his mind telling him that something bad would happen even though he told himself it wouldn't.

He lie in bed one night, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Turning his head to look at his alarm clock, he saw that it was 3:12 in the morning. The redhead sighed, thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts that used to haunt him every night for years but stopped after he met Kageyama.

He tries to shake the thoughts away but they still linger in his mind, corrupting him. Memories of the past playing in his mind.

_"Did you hear? Hinata has no soulmate!" A girl says to one of her friends._

_They snicker and one replies, "That's disgusting. Is that even possible?"_

_"It never happens." A boy says. "It's surprising how someone like him was born."_

"No." Hinata whispers. "Not again."

_"Gross. It's him again." A girl gives him a nasty look as he walks into the classroom. "He should just kill himself already."_

"Please stop."

_"Why is he still alive?"_

_"He's a disgrace! I don't want him near my children!"_

"Stop!"

_"Kill yourself."_

_"Kill."_

_"Kill!"_

Hands clenched, nails digging into flesh. Hinata sits up, face a sickly pale color. He stumbles to the bathroom and locks the door behind him. Hinata looks in the mirror, his eyes red from crying. He pulls back one of his sleeves to his sweatshirt and looks at the scars lining his arm. Pulling out his blade he kept hidden, he puts the cold metal to his arm, pressing down and sliding it across his skin. He winces and and makes another cut, blood trickling out of his skin.

One after the other, new scars are made, lining his arm with the color of red. The blood dripping onto the counter. Hinata stares blankly at his arm, mind clouded and his only intent was to end it. He wanted to end it all and this was the way he chose to do it.

_"Shouyou. Please, don't ever hurt yourself again, okay?"_

A familiar voice says in his mind. He stops for a moment and it says again. _"I don't want you to be in pain. Please promise me you won't do it again."_

"Tobio." Hinata whispers.

Sudden realization hits him and he stops himself from making another cut. A tear slips down his face and he breaks down.

"I-I'm sorry..." He says through the tears.

After trying to calm himself down, he ran his arm under the faucet and wrapped his arm in bandages. Hinata cleaned up any blood that was left and washed the blade. He went to bed afterwards but still couldn't sleep. His wrist stung and he tried to block out the pain. He regretted what he had done.

Time ticked by, second after second, minute after minute, and hour after hour. Hinata stared blankly at the ceiling. His room started to brighten as the morning had come. The alarm clock rang noisily and he hit the button to silence it. Hinata slowly got up and went through his morning routine tiredly. He said goodbye to his mother after hiding his face to prevent her from seeing the bags under his eyes and took off to school.

After getting there, he locks up his bike and instead of heading to the clubroom to change for morning practice, he found a tree to sit under and rest his head on the trunk. Hinata looked up at the clouds drifting slowing across the vast blue sky.

Time ticked away and no one had found him like he thought someone would. He closed his eyes and hoped for sleep, trying to calm his mind which was filled with too many thoughts. Hinata drifted off to sleep but was shaken awake a moment later. He opened one eye to see Kageyama looking at him worriedly.

"Shouyou. Are you okay?" He asks quickly.

Hinata just nods. "I'm just tired that's all. I didn't sleep at all last night and thought I could catch a few minutes before school started. Sorry for worrying you."

Kageyama was knelt down in front of him and brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. Hinata smiled at the small gesture and used his arm to get off the ground. He winced in pain as he had accidentally used his bad arm and tried to keep a straight face but Kageyama had seen.

"Hey, are you okay?" He steadies Hinata.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The redhead replies.

"No, I'm serious. You don't seem okay. Please tell me what's wrong." Kageyama tells him.

"I'm really okay." Hinata says, giving him a smile.

"Shouyou, please don't lie to me." Kageyama saw right through him.

The setter reached out and touched his arm but Hinata pulled it away quickly.

"Shouyou." Kageyama says sternly. "Let me see your arm."

Hinata holds out his shaking arm and his anxiety rises. Kageyama slides back the sleeve of his uniform and his breath hitches in his throat.

"Shouyou... why would you do this?" Kageyama whispers, sadness in his voice.

"I relapsed really bad last night." Hinata says quietly.

Kageyama looks at Hinata's wrist sadly. He pulls down his sleeve and grabs the redhead in a tight hug. "Shouyou, please don't _ever_ do that again, okay? Promise me?"

Hinata nods, "Alright, I promise."

Kageyama holds onto Hinata tightly and doesn't want to let go, fearing that if he does, he'll lose him forever. The bell rang which made Kageyama and Hinata pull apart. The setter grabs Hinata's hand and intertwines their fingers together, walking to class hand in hand.

*********

When lunch came around, the two headed to the roof and Hinata laid his head in Kageyama's lap and closed his eyes.

"Are you not going to eat?" The setter asks.

"I'm not hungry." Hinata replies.

Kageyama sighs and rests his hand on Hinata's head, running his fingers through his hair. The redhead falls asleep soon after but is shaken awake when it was time to go back to class.

The day passed slowly and even though Hinata loved volleyball, he didn't enjoy that day's practice like he usually does. The rest of his teammates asked if he was okay but he just told them he was tired and they let him be but they were still concerned.

After practice, Hinata walked with Kageyama to the train station and saw him off, making a promise to the setter that he'd be in school the next day and that he'd call him if he needed anything.

When he got home, he took a bath and ate a small portion of his dinner before locking himself in his room for the night and climbed under his duvet. He took out his phone and waited until he could dial Kageyama's number when he got home. After waiting about an hour, he called him and listened to the ringing and Kageyama picks up moments later.

"Shouyou?"

"Can I talk to you until I fall asleep?" Hinata asks quietly.

"Sure." Kageyama says through the phone. There are sounds of rustling on the other end and Hinata assumed he was settling down for the night.

They talk for a few hours until Hinata yawns loudly and mumbles something Kageyama couldn't make out and soon snores could be heard. Kageyama smiles and whispers good night before hanging up.


	14. Ice Skating and Birthday Wishes

Kageyama's phone buzzes loudly, making him wake up from his dreamless sleep. He reaches blindly for it on his shelf and presses the answer button, bring it to his ear and saying, "What do you want so early in the morning?"

"Happy birthday!" Hinata yells down the phone.

Kageyama pulls the phone away form his ear to check the date and sees that it is indeed his birthday. "Thank you?" He says but it comes out more like a question.

"I'm taking you somewhere today so be ready in ten minutes! Bye!" Hinata hangs up the phone before Kageyama could protest.

The black haired male grumbles that he only had ten minutes and jumps up from bed, searching for a clean pair of clothes and quickly makes his way downstairs where there was a knock on the door. He puts on his shoes and a hoodie and opens the door to see Hinata smiling happily.

The redhead kisses him then grabs his hand, tugging him along. "Wait! Where are we even going?"

"It's a surprise!" Hinata says.

After getting pulled along by the shorter male and having to take the train, they arrive in front of a large building, an ice skating rink. Walking inside, Hinata pays and they go grab a pair of skates. Kageyama sits there on a bench and tries to tell Hinata that he doesn't want to ice skate but Hinata doesn't listen and forces him to put on the skates.

They walk into the rink and Kageyama holds onto the railing for dear life. His legs wobble and he was trying his hardest to not fall as Hinata just grins widely and easily glides over the ice, laughing at Kageyama.

"C'mon!" Hinata grabs onto Kageyama's hand and pulls him away from the railing.

"No! I'm going to fall!" Kageyama tries to get away but Hinata tugs him further away, pulling a protesting Kageyama behind him.

Hinata lets him go and Kageyama stands there, arms held out for balance as he tries not to fall. He takes a step forward and manages to not fall over.

"Just watch me!" Hinata places his foot in front of the other and glides along the ice. "See, just do what I do and you'll be fine!"

"Easier said than done..." Kageyama grumbles as he tries to follow the steps Hinata showed him.

After failing, Hinata just takes his hand and slowly shows him the steps - the two awkwardly trying to skate side-by-side. Kageyama makes a weird face, trying to concentrate on the task and manages to sort of do okay.

The setter grins maniacally and Hinata continues to hold his hand while they skate. All was going well until Kageyama lost his balance and started to wobble, falling backwards and bringing Hinata down along with him.

The redhead was laughing, tears forming in his eyes after what had happened. Kageyama started to laugh too and they were both given weird looks by people passing them as they were sprawled out on the ice, laughing their heads off.

Hinata wipes the tears away and gets up, holding his hand out to Kageyama who takes it and pulls himself up.

*********

After a few hours of ice skating, the two go into town for lunch. Hinata took Kageyama to a café and they got a table next to a frosty window where Hinata drew on the glass while Kageyama got their drinks and food.

"Here." Kageyama says, placing the food and drinks down on the table.

"Thank you." The redhead reaches for his frozen coffee and takes a sip. He smiles and holds the cup out to Kageyama. "Taste it! It's good!"

Kageyama blushes and takes a sip, making sure no one around them saw. "It's good, isn't it?" Hinata asks happily.

Kageyama nods and looks at the pictures Hinata drew on the frosty window. Of course he drew a volleyball, a meat bun, some stars, and himself. The setter reaches out and draws something next to the little Hinata figure.

The redhead looks at what he was doing and blushes; Kageyama drew himself next to the stick figure that he drew, adding their jersey numbers above themselves.

After eating and enjoying each other's company in the small, warm, coffee-scented café, they decide to go to a few stores and shop around for a bit. Hinata made sure Kageyama didn't see what he bought as he told him it was a surprise even though the setter said he didn't want a present.

They got on the train and headed to Hinata's house where Kageyama was greeted with confetti when they walked through the door.

"Happy birthday, Tobio!" Hinata's mother and Natsu yelled cheerfully, making Kageyama's face turn red in embarrassment.

"Now, I made your favorite cake so please have a seat." Hinata's mother tells Kageyama.

The setter sits down at the table and Hinata runs off to his room for a few minutes then comes back with a rectangular present in his hands, crudely wrapped in wrapping paper.

The redhead shoves it in Kageyama's face and tells him to open it. The black haired male takes it and unwraps the paper, revealing very expensive volleyball shoes.

"How-." Kageyama can't finish his sentence.

"I helped my neighbors clean their yards and saved up so I could get you something that would come in handy." Hinata says. "I saw you looking at those shoes the first time we'd gone shopping and I decided I'd get those for you for your birthday, and Christmas of course."

"Thank you..." Kageyama didn't know what else to say.

"Oh don't mention it." Hinata says happily and sits down next to Kageyama.

They sing happy birthday and eat many slices of cake, Hinata eating way too much that his stomach was starting to hurt. Hinata saw Kageyama to the door and the redhead demanded that he would have his hoodie.

"Why do you want my hoodie?" Kageyama asks, confusion written clearly across his face.

"Because..." Hinata blushes. "That's what boyfriends do right?"

Kageyama sighs and slides off his hoodie, handing it over to the redhead who eagerly takes it and slips it over his head. He pulls down the bottom of the fabric and it reaches down to his thighs, the sleeves way too big and covering up his hands. Hinata grins happily and looks up to see Kageyama who was blushing madly, his face a dark shade of red.

"G-good night." Kageyama says and scurries away.

Hinata looks at him weirdly as he disappears and yells happy birthday one last time into the night, making sure Kageyama heard.

A happy Hinata returns to his room for the night and falls asleep to the comfortable scent of the warm hoodie.


	15. Aquarium Date

To get Hinata back for always waking him up early on a weekend, Kageyama was standing in front of the Hinata household at eight in the morning but he didn't warn the redhead about coming over so he stood on the porch and rang the doorbell. A few minutes passed and the door creaked open to Hinata who was rubbing his eyes tiredly and was still wearing Kageyama's hoodie which was way to big for him.

"Tobio? Why are you here?" the redhead yawns.

"I wanted to take you out on a date." Kageyama blushes.

Hinata's cheeks turn the color of his hair at those words. "But we just went on a date yesterday?"

"I know but I realized that you usually think about where to go so I thought I'd think of something to do."

"Alright!" Hinata smiles. I've got to take a bath and get ready so why don't you come in?"

Kageyama walks in when Hinata invited him into the house and takes off his shoes and jacket. The redhead tells him to go to his room and watch TV or read something off his bookshelf while he goes to get ready. When Hinata comes back from his bath, Kageyama scolds him for leaving his hair soaking wet as he could catch a cold and forces him to sit on the bed while he dries his hair properly with a towel.

"Honestly, do I have to keep babying you?" Kageyama can't help but laugh when Hinata starts pouting.

"Hmph." Hinata crosses his arms and looks away, not having a comeback as Kageyama always baby's him because he doesn't take care of himself like he should be.

"There." Kageyama kisses Hinata's noses. "And before you leave, you have to eat breakfast, okay?"

Hinata huffs. "Do I really have to?"

"Yes. I don't want you to get sick."

The redhead sighs and makes his way to the kitchen where he pulls something out of the fridge and heats it up, grumbling as he eats it and sending Kageyama evil looks while doing so because he forced him to eat. After putting his dishes on the sink, he slips on his shoes and puts a jacket on then leaves a note on the counter saying where he went.

"You ready to go?" Kageyama asks.

Hinata nods and grabs his house key and slips it into his pocket just in case there was no one home by the time he gets back after wherever they were going as Kageyama wouldn't tell him. Hinata stuffs his wallet in his jacket pocket then takes Kageyama's hand into his before leaving.

They walk to the train station and wait for their train to arrive before boarding. Hinata looks out the window and watches as the countryside turns more city-like and they get off when the train stops. The redhead surveys the area around them to try and get an idea of where they were going but he couldn't figure out what until they turned the corner and Hinata saw a large building with many families walking into it.

"An aquarium?" Hinata asks. "I haven't been to one since I was a kid!"

The redhead runs towards the building with Kageyama yelling at him from behind to slow down. Hinata's eyes light up when he walks through the doors and sees tanks full of water and sea creatures swimming around in them. Kageyama hands a person two tickets and grabs Hinata's hand as he was starting to wander off.

"Penguins!" Hinata yells excitedly and points to an exhibit ahead of them.

The redhead walks towards the railing and looks down, smiling widely as he saw a worker feeding them, the penguins running to get the food and making loud squawking noises. Others dove into the water and swam around before hopping out and diving back in again.

"That one looks like Noya-senpai!" Hinata points to a penguin with a strip of blond feathers on its head, squawking loudly a few feet away.

"Looks like the penguin can also be annoying." Kageyama laughs, pointing to the other poor penguins who were staying clear of the one who looked like Nishinoya.

They went to another section, a large room that was surrounded in glass. Hinata pressed his face against the cold glass and watched the many types of fish swim around, some moving very slowly and others moving though the water quickly. He stares in awe at the many beautiful colors shimmering off the water.

Kageyama stood back and watched Hinata, smiling warmly and falling deeper in love with him every second as he sees how happy he is.

"Can we see the sharks next?" Hinata asks, not looking away from the large tank.

"Sure." Kageyama replies.

Hinata pulls his face away from the glass and walks slowly through the tunnel that was the tank, making sure to catch a glimpse of every type of fish there.

They walk into another section with another large tank that had many kinds of sharks swimming in it. Hinata and Kageyama looked at the wall for the type of shark and pointed out which ones they were.

"That one looks like Tanaka-senpai, and that one too!" Hinata points to several sharks that uncannily resembled their older teammate.

After seeing the sharks, they went to other rooms. One with jellyfish, one with stingrays, another with seals, and others with crabs, sea lions, and many other sea creatures. The two were very happy and were glad that they could spend as much time as they could with each other and not have to worry about anything.

*********

After spending their whole day walking around an aquarium, the walk back home was very tiresome for Hinata who was dragging his feet along the ground.

"Tobio~, can you carry me?" Hinata slurs tiredly.

Kageyama sighs and crouches down, Hinata clambering onto his back and his arms wrap around his neck. The redhead rests his head on Kageyama's shoulder and mumbles something the setter couldn't understand. Kageyama walks down the dark road, the lights barely helping. Birds were calling out to each other and the trees were rustling in the wind. Hinata was mumbling in his sleep and drooled on Kageyama's jacket.

When they arrived at Hinata's house, Kageyama tried to wake up the redhead who was protesting but eventually slid off.

"Good night, Tobio." Hinata says quietly, arms wrapped around Kageyama's waist and head on his chest.

"Good night, Shouyou."


	16. Unraveling The Future

**[5 Years Later]**

The slight breeze of the early spring morning came in through the window that was opened halfway, moving the curtains so that the suns rays peaked through, illuminating the cream colored walls and turning it into a golden color.

Soft breaths and tiny snores were the only sounds that could be heard except for the birds chirping outside. Legs tangled together and arms draped lazily over one another, a small redhead was curled into his significant other, his soulmate.

His head was resting on the others chest while his legs were curled up, small hands gripped loosely on the others shirt.

The taller, black haired male opens his eyes, squinting at the light from the sun. He reaches his hand up to rub the blurriness out of his eyes while the redhead snuggles closer unconsciously as he slept on.

Kageyama turns his head to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table which read '6:24 a.m.'. He carefully takes Hinata's hand off his shirt and untangles himself from him. The taller male gets up quietly, making sure to not disturb the redhead and he proceeds out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him.

Kageyama walks to the kitchen and starts to brew some coffee before starting on breakfast. He had to leave in an hour for practice so he decided to get ready for the day.

The small apartment was uncomfortably quiet so Kageyama turns on the TV where the news was talking about the weekly weather. He goes back to making breakfast and when it was done and placed on plates along with coffee filled mugs, he goes to the bedroom and opens the door to see Hinata who was still soundly asleep.

"Shouyou, breakfast is ready," Kageyama shakes Hinata awake, leaving a kiss on his forehead.

"Hm?" Hinata hums, rubbing his eyes and looking up lazily at Kageyama.

"I made breakfast," Kageyama says again. "I have to leave for practice in half an hour."

The redhead nods slightly before sitting up and stretching his arms and back. He swings his legs over the side of the bed before hoping off and making his way to the kitchen where Kageyama had already left to moments ago.

Hinata's eyes light up at the sight of breakfast and immediately sits down at the small table, eagerly waiting for Kageyama to sit down as well so he could start eating. When he does and they say their thanks, Hinata digs in without a second thought.

This was an everyday occurrence so it wasn't anything new to Kageyama. He remembers how Hinata used to never eat in the mornings when they were still in high school but after graduating and moving in together, his appetite came back and he was eating full meals again, but, he did stop eating at one point shortly after they started living together.

After graduating from high school, Kageyama and Hinata were scouted by Japan's National Volleyball Team. They moved to Tokyo and bought an apartment close by, finally living their dream, but it didn't last long however.

Hinata sprained his right wrist one day during practice while they were still in high school. He thought nothing of it and continued to play volleyball without getting it treated. The sprain became worse and a few months after finally becoming a national volleyball player, his dream soon came crashing down.

He could no longer spike or play volleyball as a matter of fact, and that's when Kageyama found out for Hinata kept his injury well hidden for months. They immediately went to the hospital where they learned that Hinata would never be able to play volleyball again due to his untreated injury.

Hinata shut down entirely after hearing the news and locked himself in their bedroom for several weeks, months even. He would lay under the blankets and stare blankly at the plain ceiling day after day, not caring anymore. Hinata stopped eating and never took care of himself after that. Kageyama would have to force him to eat everyday but only managed to get him to eat a couple times a week.

He grew very skinny and his appearance withered, also becoming extremely pale and sickly looking, which then he had to be sent back to the hospital after not eating for so long and being sleep deprived. Kageyama tried his best to look after him and was eventually close to giving up in the end.

After a few more months, Hinata began to eat again, finally understanding that there wasn't any point in shutting himself in the bedroom all day and wondering why he would never be able to play volleyball again when he knew the answer, he just never wanted to believe it.

He felt bad that Kageyama had to baby him all those months and show pity for how he had acted. Hinata wanted to make it up to him by showing that he didn't care anymore that he couldn't play volleyball ever again but it hurt, it hurt knowing that the only thing he really cared about besides Kageyama, his family, and his old team, would never be the same again.

It took quite some time for Hinata to get better and their lives to turn back to normal. Kageyama was still on the team even though he tried to quite long ago because he never wanted to play the sport that he and Hinata both loved dearly, alone and without him, but the redhead forced him to keep playing, for Kageyama and himself.

An uncertain Kageyama finally gave up and decided not to quit but the thought was still in the back of his mind.

While Kageyama would go to practice every morning for a few hours, Hinata would go to work at a local café as he needed to keep himself preoccupied instead of sulking at home.

Their lives finally got back in order and they were they happiest they could ever be. They hadn't really thought about anything else, or about them to be exact. Work and being together was all they thought about so they didn't need to think too much into the future until the time was right.

*********

"I have to go now so I'll be back at the usual time," Kageyama says after putting his and Hinata's dishes in the sink then tugging on his shoes and grabbing his bag.

"Okay, see you then," Hinata smiles and follows Kageyama to the door, standing on his tiptoes with his arms wrapped around the taller males neck, kissing him goodbye.

"I love you," Kageyama says after they pull away, Hinata's arms still wrapped around him while he held onto his waist

"I love you," The redhead smiles then lets go. "Bye!"

Kageyama closes the front door behind him, Hinata sighing and going into the bedroom to take a quick shower and get ready for work. He pulls out his uniform and places it in his bag so he could get changed into it when he gets to work before walking to the small bathroom to take a shower, hoping that this time the water wouldn't be too cold since it always takes a while to heat up.

Afterwards, he throws on a pair of pants, a shirt, and a hoodie then picks up his bag before grabbing his phone, keys, and wallet then heads out the door to work, hoping that it will be a slow day as he didn't feel like having a stressful work day that day.

 _Can't wait to get back home_ , Hinata thinks as he walks down the sidewalk to the café.

*********

During practice, Kageyama's mind was wandering to another place other than volleyball. He had made reservations at a fancy restaurant fifteen minutes away for later that night. Kageyama planned on taking Hinata there for a date since they hadn't gone on one in a while, but he also had another plan in mind that would change everything for them.

He anxiously waited for Hinata to get off of work so he could take him. Kageyama sent a text to the small redhead during one of his breaks telling him they were going out that night but he didn't specify where.

Hinata was excited after receiving the text and thoughts ran through his mind for the rest of the day until he got off from work.

Kageyama came to pick him up like he always does and they walk back to the apartment together, hands intertwined and a comfortable silence surrounding them.

When they get back to the apartment, Kageyama takes out a pair of dress pants and a white button up, laying it across the bed for Hinata to put on.

 _Guess we're going somewhere nice then_ , Hinata thinks, smiling at the thought. He slips on the clothes, Kageyama wearing something similar before they head out the door to the restaurant.

They arrive to a very elegant and fancy looking restaurant that Kageyama had reserved weeks ago for this certain day. They are led to a table next to a window overlooking the city and spend a couple hours talking and enjoying each other's company.

Afterwards, they walk hand in hand down a lit path in a park close by. The air was warm with a light breeze that rustled the trees as they walk by. Kageyama stops after a while and looks at the ground for a few moments before turning to Hinata and taking both hands into his.

"Shouyou," Kageyama starts.

"Yeah?" The redhead responds, wondering why Kageyama had stopped them on their walk through the park.

"Um..." Kageyama tries to think of what to say. "Shouyou, we've known each other for almost nine years now, eight of those years I've spent with you and I can honestly say those were the best years of my life. I know this is really cliché sounding but it's the truth."

"What are you implying?" Hinata asks.

"What I'm trying to say is, Shouyou, I love you so much, and I always will," Kageyama face was turning red from how scared and anxious he was at this moment. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I was hoping it would be the same for you."

By now, Hinata had gotten the message and tears started forming in his eyes, his mouth quivering.

Kageyama gets down on one knee and pulls a small, black box out of his pocket, opening it and reaching up, looking at Hinata with hope and love in his eyes.

"Hinata Shouyou, will you marry me?"


End file.
